POP loh

i wished i could tell you that the past nine weeks flew by like a breeze and how i'm missing every moment spent on the sunny island of tekong. but no, my experience was just too far from that.

i dreaded every second i was in there, and every exercise i had to pull myself through. more often at times forcing myself to put on a smile simply because demoralisation's a contagious killer that can swiftly wipe out a platoon's morale. the irritable buzz of the alarm clock at 0515 hours each morning was a cruel snap back to reality from one of my only source of comfort - dreaming of home. and as i gaze upon changi's control tower over on mainland along the way to the toilet with my toothbrush in hand... well, that just made the situation so much more painful to accept. as harsh as it sounds, yes, it was literally one hell of a living nightmare.

if i could sum up the whole experience, i believe it'd be the best journey of self discovery i've landed myself in. at the end of each day, the only thing i ever longed for was to hear the voices of my loved ones over the phone. even then, it was difficult to cover up the sobbing and no matter how hard you tried, its never easy to lie to your mom. she knew. despite so, she kept my pride at her interest and never asked why, only to reply 'i love you son...'. yep, that was the first time my mom ever said those four words to me. gosh, recalling those moments only moves me to tears once again.

the mornings spent emo-ing, days being outfield and nights warded in the sickbay alone, are amongst the many i'll never forget. amidst those tough times however, i guessed i've matured. i finally understood what it meant by 'the best things in life are free', and what i needa do to cherish them. learning to be independent, you bet. if washing your own clothes is included that is. ;) piecing it all together, would have been what made me stronger and more capable to take on life's future obstacles.

and how can i not mention about my buds who brought me through it all. for example, smacking your ass as you run to ensure you meet the 2.4 targets, holding you up and taking over your fieldpack when you no longer can take shit from the route marches, and digging part of your grave (shellscape) for you when you get engulfed with heat rash. you guys know i owe you my life. haha. and yes, thank you sgt ashri, wilson and wan for all the memorable tekan sessions that if not for, i'd never have made it for ippt.

among all, esther, shuying, jiawen, junyi and the sec4s, thank you thank you thank you sooo much for the cards! y'all should be glad to know i had them up on my cupboard door and if there was a remedy to make me feel any better, it would have been those :D heehee.

as i look back, i figured the reason for the distasteful experience can only be owed to the removal of our basic right - freedom, which all of us are entirely used to having (and probably have taken for granted of) and all we got left with instead, were the basic necessities to live - no more, no less. yet in defending that freedom, we have to be prepared to give it up, ironically. whatever it was, i'm glad i can honestly say i did my best. never once keng ok. wahaha. so wish me luck for my posting in a few days. hopefully a slack vocation please! maybe driver, storeman or clerk would be nice.

EVERYDAY STRONGER, BETTER, FASTER, COUGAR! (:

first book out

being home after the god-forsaken two weeks confinement felt like the best damn thing on earth. though only two weeks, it sure appeared like forever and infinitely worst than being away for ulp-obs-jtc-ndp combined back-to-back as that in sec3. sigh, i guess as mother nature has taught, the key to survival in any situation - quit whining and adapt, better known as 'suck thumb' in army terms.

kay, we've been briefed strictly on our blogging limitations, and to avoid the risk of being charged and thrown into db, henceforth i'll keep my posts short and sweet. well, i'm in cougar company, platoon four, section two, bed twelve. and of not being any help, we learnt during our first days that cougar was known to be the most siong company in school I. our commanders did great (even going the extra mile often) in ensuring that its legacy was drilled into our heads. you get what i mean.

other than the high standards expected of us, i'm surprised to discover that living conditions there wasn't that bad after all. bunk wise... definitely cleaner and neater than my own room, food... considering the slave-like physical trainings, i'll be more than glad to devour anything on the table. toilets... they now come with doors. haha. so perhaps the saddest thing is that there's only males and more males to look at each day. sheesh.

anyhow, i'm really grateful for the peeps i've been blessed with as platoon mates. a fun-loving and caring (and english-speaking, phew) bunch whom i know i can rely on to pull me through the rugged road ahead. and interestingly enough, i've been appointed the platoon trash i/c, lol.

so in a couple of hours it'll be time to head back and have the whole cycle of missing home repeat itself again. sighhh... as much as i hate being in this situation i'm in now, i don't pray that God will take me out of this, instead only to grant me the strength and grace i need to face this as a good solider. so till then, please continue to keep me in your prayers and i'll look forward to see you guys next weekend!

this is it

its been a hectic and emotional day trying to get everything in order before i leave, buying last minute stuff and of course packing. hence i will keep this post real short.

haha, the feelings for the past few days have been one hell of a roller coaster ride, with its steepest drop down being right at this moment, as i take in every tick of the second enjoying home and its company. in a few hours time i'll be entering a whole new chapter of life, from civilian to soldier. the truth is, i'm really looking forward to it. the opportunity to caress my very own rifle, blow a grenade, sleep with men i see naked during showers, overcome my fear of doing it in the outdoors and much more! indeed, will it be an adventure of a lifetime. but again, if i told you i'm perfectly fine, that would be an obvious lie. it seems that i cant help being nervous and a little emo at times. the many uncertainties, the thought of being away from home for the longest time and missing out all the fun everyone's having... thats sad.

thankfully, i have you. yep, its you who gives meaning to all that we guys go through for. as you enjoy the peace and progress at home, please remember the peeps defending this land, seriously. haha. and with that in mind, rest assured i'll be maintaining my high spirits and doing my best to serve this nation for all of us.

please please keep us in your daily prayers. i'll look forward to catching up with you guys when i return. hopefully slim and hunky then LOL. /glups, i actually heard of friends who put on weight in there. haha, but we'll see.

so this is it i believe. bye pink ic, hair, nice comfy room and fats (hopefully). helloo tekong baabbyy, woohoo! till then, take care and see you folks in two weeks! (:

batam getaway

a casual remark over coffee with junjie that we should plan a getaway some time ago, and surprisingly we landed ourselves in batam over the hari raya holidays. the best part, i believed we did quite abit for a small budget. nothing too extravagant, except for the suite stay, go-kart (which stephen tan lost :p), 2hrs full body massage and the unimaginable seafood feast that cost us only 23 bucks a person for nine dishes, woohoo!! it seemed like that in europe we were beggers, in batam we became kings. lol.

nothing much brought home though, only a lousy tan and a sore back after the massage. yikes, recalling the whole trip is already making me drool for the seafood... we shall return soon! >.<

we became millionaires instantly... in rupiahs

makan!

hunt for the legendary a&w and look what we discovered

go-kart!

seafood feast! mmmmm....
us watching animal planet thru the night. sheesh.
peeping tom
hunks wanabes
junjie's tee says it all mann.

photo credits to stephen wong

go fly kite

finally, a chance to reminisce the good old days of kite flying with papa... last i cant remember when. in the past it was marina park, only to be replaced with the marina barrage now. well, a perfect activity to save a lazy saturday that i'd have slept through otherwise, hehe. thank god for the great weather and friends. (:

photo credits to yingsheng, qi hui and derek

disaster

spent the day scouting around for a non camera phone for ns use, and eventually decided on the sony ericsson w950i for its web surfing features. thought that might be able to satisfy my boredom in camp, if theres even such an opportunity, lol.

after having bought it and trying it out at home, i came to a sad realisation. my poor 200 bucks was spent on nothing but a total disaster. it takes at least a minute to start up, unable to put photos as wallpaper, bloody soft ringtone, crappy touch screen, pathetic battery life, frustrating lagging... and the list goes on. OMG.

guess i'll be stuck with it for the next two years... thanks to zaidi's recommendation. hahaha, how did you even use it mann?!

prawning

another adventure to the ulu side of singapore! this time, prawning at punggol marina. probably the best con and most cruel activity invented. 30 bucks for three hours that should get you about 5 prawns if its your day... with that kinda price i can get a seafood platter for two at fish n' co and feast to one's heart's content. haha, but at least the awesome company compensated and made the cost worth while. nice having wei ben use his hands to catch the little ones, steady mann. haha and yeah, if you're going the next time, remember to wash the prawns before grilling them please. we totally consumed all the pond water and shit in it when we forgot to have them washed. sheesh.

birthday bash

great food, great music, great company...

happy 60th anniversary red cross yo!

farewell

i told myself it was about time i'd leave fmssrcy before you guys even came as sec1s. but your passion and enthusiasm touched me, so much that i couldn't bear to leave. who would have expected time to fly by this fast, and its already been four years i've stayed. i've watched you grown, mature and having broken your boundaries to emerge as the respectable and capable leaders you are today. i am so proud of each of you.

as we bid you farewell, i hope you all will continue to strive for the very best for yourself and those around you, and never forget that whatever that doesn't kills you only makes you stronger.

you guys will never be forgotten. thanks for all the priceless memories!

snap snap

back to the studio for a fun-filled time over the past weekend. these guys are natural born models i tell you.. made my job never more easy and fun, except for the small and cramp space we had to work with under budget. but i guessed we made do well with it. aye, can start considering part time modelling already eh khoo yu.

heehee. thanks for the opportunity. hope you guys like the work!

ndp 2009

thanks to junjie who at the very last minute managed to get us tics, we were able to catch the last preview of ndp 2009! haha, thanks so much dude! eh well, the show was good. probably better than most of the previous ndps i can remember. and as always, the patriotic feeling that overwhelms everyone for that short while, which unfortunately after that... most put away the flags and turn into inconsiderate bastards again. sheesh.

hah, but nevertheless, happy national day fellow citizens!

european conquest

2 weeks of being vaporised by the summer heat, over three thousand photos captured, having taken in every cultural delight of the countries we visited, and... we've finally arrived home!

we practically travelled like beggers during those fourteen days because everything was just too expensive. almost all public toilets in europe require a 'small' entry fee, and guess how much that cost. you wont believe it... S$3 bucks! gosh, and the distance equivalent of boonlay to jurong east in a cabby ride cost us over S$40 bucks! needless to say, i think you can imagine the prices of food haha. so that should explain the empty bag we returned with, originally intended for souvenirs.

anyhow, it was one awesomeeee experience that i consider myself so blessed to have. of course it didnt come easy with all the sacrifices and 'stinching', but definitely one hell of a worth while trip. the sightseeing and food tasting, totally priceless.

guess it'll take awhile now to come clean of the jet lag, and then its time to snap back to reality, including the fact that i've probably gained a few tons. nnoooo....

mann, i miss europe already. next stop, england babyyy! after much damage control to my piggy bank that is. :)

btw, got all pics uploaded on facebook. sorry folks, too lazy to blog each day out further. :p

the grass is greener on the other side

two full days getting around and to know amsterdam was enough to determine it as surely one of the best places to spend one’s retirement in.

haha, not because of the sleaziness, but well just as a coin as two faces, we were glad to have been able to experience the other side of amsterdam, holland. besides the city, we managed to squeeze in some time to visit the country sides, farms and old towns. and who would have expected, they turned out simply beautiful. vast open lands, friendly old people, and getting in tune with mother nature… definitely the kind of place to spend my golden years. :D

interestingly enough, we found out why the country’s named the netherlands is cause its lands are really nether! flat and below sea level that is. and trying to speak dutch is like trying to spit with your mouth saliva-dried. hahaha, not a language i’d think of picking up anytime soon.

overall, holland appeared to be a pretty laid back country thus her peeps adopting more stress free and easy going lifestyles, which explains the much acceptance of weed, prostitution and drinks. but if there’re the few necessities the dutch can’t live without, they'd be milk, bread and cheese! yep, that’s all they eat for breakfast everyday of their lives. damn, now that’s one reason why i can’t survive over there for long. i’ll turn into a ball… and where’s all the cha kway tiao, kway chap, and o-luah when you need them?! but no offence, i still love you cheeesseeee.

so, before departing the city of diamonds, we made a final return to the city to take in the last remaining breaths of the ‘weed-stained’ air, and attempted some last min shopping which failed, but instead only got ourselves a few bottles of heinekens. whoot, it costs 47¢ a bottle while water’s $1.70! how cool is that mann.

haha, well enough of sin city. tomorrow, germany!

amsterdams's diamonds are cheaper, but doesn't mean she'll get one :)

cityscape

old sleepy town/port

best friend :D

cheese factory!

countryside farm

clogs! ah, i see where crocs originated from

countryside